Device for automatically inserting marking strips in piles of sheets



Oct. 26, 1948.

Filed Oct. 12, 1945 L. NAMENYl-KATZ 2,452,138 DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING MARKING STRIPS IN FILES 0F SHEETS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTDR/VJ y Oct. 26, 1948. NAMENYl-KATZ 2,452,138

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING MARKING Y STRIPS IN PILES 0F SHEETS 6 She'ets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 12, 1945 ATTORNEY L. NAME -KATZ AUT RIPS 2,452,138 ICA Y INSERTING MARKING FILES OF SHEETS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 26, 1948.

DEVICE F081;

Filed Oct. 12, 1945 Arrow/Ex Y L- NAMENYI -KATZ DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING MARKING STRIPS IN PILES OF SHEETS Oct. 26, 1948.

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 12, 1945 B m MN L. NAMENYl-KATZ DEVICE FOR AU'I' STRIPS 2,452,138 0 IGALLY INSERTING MARKING FILES 0F SHEETS 6 ShetS-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 12, 1945 ATTORNEY M Oct. 26, 1948. L. NAMENYl-KATZ DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING MARKING STRIPS IN FILES 0F SHEETS Filed (kit. 12. 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 TORA/EY Patented Oct. 26, 1948 DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY 'INSERTING 'MARKING STRIPS IN FILES OF SHEETS Laszlo Namenyi-Katz, London, .England, assignor to English Numbering Machines Limited, London, England Application .October 12, 1945; Serial N 0. 622,073 w In Great Britain July 24, 1944 4 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for automatically inserting marking strips in piles of sheets primarily intended for use by printers to facilitate the counting, in predetermined quantities, of thesheets as they fall from the printing press.

Devices for the purpose ofautomatically inserting strips at predetermined numbers and for counting the total number of printed sheets deposited have heretofore been proposed, but the objectof the present invention is to provide a device which will cut off and automatically insert a strip of marking paper between the printed sheets after the dropping of a predetermined number of sheets and which will be reset automatically for a further cutting operation.

According to this invention the device for out.- ting-oif and inserting the strips of paper at predetermined periods comprises the provision of means for supporting a roll of paper, means for drawing said strip through the machine, means fortcutting the strip into predetermined lengths, means for delivering and placing said out lengths in the desired. position comprising a fixed-cutting blade anda coacting blade mounted onan arm having a vertical movement and a partial horizontal rotary movement under .the influence of a spring, said means also embodying means for holding the severed strip and delivering same into the desired position in the manner herein ole--v scribed.

The invention further comprises .means in which the movements of the feeding, cutting and delivery mechanism areefiected-by driving mech-. anism connected with the machine with which itis combined, the sequence of movements being controlled by pre-settin mechanism, said presetting mechanism comprises a pluralityof .numeral wheelsfurnished with means for closing a plurality of electrical contacts for the purpose of ,energising a pair ofsolenoids-arranged to actuatea switch over mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 1 is a plan, partly in section on. line II of Figure 3.

Figure2 is a vertical transverse section online IIII ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section-on line III'III.of Figure 2.

Figure 4'is a vertical longitudinal sectiononline IV'IV of Figure-2.

. Figurefi is a viewdrawn'to an enlarged scale of a detail .of construction. Figure 6 is a plan view thereof.

Figures '7 and 8 are views similar to Figure 5 showingthe parts in twodifferent positions.

"Figure 9 is a section on line IX-IX of Figure 4 drawn to an enlarged scale, and.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical connections.

According tothe embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings the mechanism for cutting. off and inserting the stripis contained in acasing I formedseparatelyfrom but connected to the casingZ adapted to contain the controlling mechanism. The cutting. off and insertingmechanism comprises a shaft .3 supporting a reel'or drum. of-strip paper 4, means comprisinga bar'5 carried by a pair of arms 6 pivoted at 1 in the casing l and drawn towards the drum .4 by a spring fl being. provided for exertin a partial restraint on the unwinding of the paper. Apaper 7 feed roller 9 is mounted on. a shaft ID and coacting therewith isa pressure roller II maintained in contact with the roller 9 bysprings I2; Ihe feed roller 9 is driven by. a toothed wheel I3 secured on the shaft .I I), the wheel I3 being arranged to mesh with a further toothed wheel I4 mounted onta driven shaft formed in. two parts I5, 5 driven from the main gear shaft I6 (Figure 4) hereafter referred to. Forward of the feed roller II the paper strip 4 is led between the cutting edges of a pair of of knives I1 and I8 disposed between a flat table surface I9 formed on the upper surface of the casing I and a plate 20 disposed at a slightly higher level immediately forward of the feed roller .I l. The knife I! is secured to the rear of the table surface I9 by a bolt 2I said bolt also serving to secure the plate-2B in position; The knife I8 is secured by a screw bolt 2'2 to therear surface of an arm-23. arrangedto swing in a horizontaltplane-under the influence,

of spring 24 said arm being mounted onv the .upper end of a vertically disposed .spin'dle 24erranged directly above thepart I5 of thedriven shaft, the lower end of said spindle 24 bearing on they surface of a resetting cam 25. The swinging arm 23 is furnished at. or about the middle of its length with a pad of resilient material .25 adapted to bear on the paper. s rip 4'1y'in n h' table I9. Thetwo parts .of the driven shaft. l5, I5 are interconnected-bymeans of a clutch-=21, the part. [5 of the drivenshaft upon which the resetting cam-25 is secured has-no longitudinal or axial movement, but-the part-I5. has a limited movement in and rotates with a, bush 28 mounted ina fixed bearing 29. The bush-28' is provided at one end with a gear wheel 3'0 meshing with a pinion -3I :mounted onthe main gear or. driving shaft I6 connected to the drive of a printing machine by a flexible shaft or in any other suitable manner. Axial movement of the bush 28 is prevented by a collar 32 maintained in position by a set screwl3 3, The gear wheel 39 also meshes with a pinion 34 mounted on a spindle 35 provided with means for actuating the presetting mechanism hereafter described. The axial movement of the part I of the driven shaft and thereby the engagement or disengagement, of the elements of the clutch 21 is efiected by an L-shaped lever pivoted to the casing at 36, the long arm 31 of which is disposed approximately horizontally, and the free end of the short arm 31 is connected by a type of universal joint 39 to the outer end of the part I5 of the driven shaft so that when certain conditions exist to permit the arm 31 to be drawn by a spring 39 into an approximately vertical position,- the shaft [5 is moved axially,- to efiect the engagement of the coacting elements of the clutch '21. The clutch elements 21, during certain periods of the operation of the device, are maintained out of engagement by a vertically disposed .pin 49 having a limited sliding movement in the casing I, thelower end of said pin resting on the freeendof the long arm 3I offthe L-shaped lever,the upper end bearing against the underface of, and, being pressed down by the swinging, arm 23 which latter is maintained ina position at right angles to the direction. of the movement of the paper strip 4 by a catch 4! controlled by a spring 42. The catch 4| is arranged to be released and the arm 23 is swung into the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 1, by a cam 43 mounted on a spindle 44 actions, a' spring 5i being provided for controlling the rotative movements ofsaidspindle and returning same to its original position. The arm 23 is returned into the operative position shown in Figures 2 and 3 by the resetting cam 25 which lifts the spindle 24 axially against the action of the spring 248 ancl'when the lower end of the spindle is resting on the highest point of the cam, the pin 25 v on the cam 25 ,strikes against the pin 24" on the spindle 24 and turns the spindle and thereby the arm 23 through QO in a horizontal planeagainst the action of the spring 24 Thespindle 35 actuated by the pinion 34, is provided with a boss 52 furnishedwith a radially disposed part 53 provided with a cam surface 53 arranged to act on a rocker element 54 (drawn to an. enlarged scale in Figures 5 to 8) secured on theswitch-over spindle 49, said rocker element 54' being provided with two cam faced members 55, 56, the action of the part 53 being to efiect a partial rotative movement of the switch-over spindle 49, the direction of rotation being dependent on the longitudinal position of the switch-over spindle 49, which latter is furnished with means, comprising a pin 51 coacting with a stop element 59 mou'nted on the casing, for limiting the degree of rotative'movement in both directions. 1 The switch-over spindle 49 constitutes the operative member for'the pre-setting drums 59, 69 and 8! which'are mounted on a spindle 6.2 supported in bearings 63 secured in the casing 2. The pre-setting drums 59, 60, 6| comprise three figure drums, the units drum 59 is actuated in either direction by a double action ratchet mechanism hereafter described operated by the movements of the switch-over spindle 49, and is interconnected with the tens drum in the known manner, and, the hundreds drum SI is interconnected with the tens drum, by means for driving pinions 64, 65 respectively, said pinions being mounted in(' separate carriers 56 and 61, furnished with springs, such as 65 and 97 to maintain said pinions in mesh with toothed wheels 68, 69 on the figure drums 99 and BI respectively.

The units drum 59 is actuated in either direction from the spindle 49 through double acting mechanism comprising a pair of ratchet wheels I0, I! formed on a drum I2 actuated by a ratchet arm I3 pivotally mounted at I4 on the outer end of an arm I5 secured on the spindle 49 (Figure 9). The arm I3 is provided with pawls I6 andIl arranged to coact with the ratchet wheels 19 and'Il respectively by means of a vertically disposed element Illslidably mounted on a pair of pins I9 secured in a U-shaped member 89 fixed to the casing 2. The lower end of the element I8 is furnished with a slot 8! arranged to receive a stud 82 secured in the spindle 49. The ,upper end of the element I8 is provided with a pair of arms 83, 84 arranged to act as retaining members for the ratchet wheels'lll, H respectively. The pawls 79, T are retained in yielding engagement with the respective ratchet wheels by means of a spring 85.

The gears 59 68 and 69 on the figure drums 59, 69 and SI respectively are arranged to engage corresponding gears 85, 8'! and 88 respectively on the setting drums 89, 90 and 9! which 'drums are so mounted on their respective spindles 92 in slotted bearings 93 (Figure 2) so that said spindles and drums may be lifted vertically by hand to disengage them for setting purposes from their coacting gears on the figure drums. V

For the purpose of effecting the reversal of the direction of rotation of the figure drums 59, 69 and El and setting drums 89, 99 and 9! a switch-over mechanism is provided and to this end each of the figure drums 59, B9 and El is furnished with a radial projection 94 so arranged that when said drums come into the zero position the projections 94 make contact with projections 95 provided on electrical contacts 96 coacting with contacts 91 (more clearly illustrated in Figure 10 which diagrammatically illustrates the electrical connections) and when these coacting contacts are closed a current is completed through the battery 98 and an electro-magnet 99 which efieots the axial movement of the pro-setting spindle 49, one end of which constitutes the solenoid element of the electro-magnet. Each of the setting drums 89, 9.9 and 9! is likewise provided with means such as a cam shaped projection lllll'adapted when said setting drums'are in the zero position to close a second series of contacts I94, 1'02 through intermediate rollers I93 formed of insulating material and thereby completes a circuit through a second electro-magnet I04 to effect the axial movement of the switch-over spindle 49 in the reverse direction. 4

In operation, the figure drums 59, 50 and GI are first set to zero position and the setting drums 89, and 91 to the figure at which it is desired to insert a strip, the electro-magnet 99 in circuit with the contacts 99 operates the switch-over spindle 49 in one direction, the printing machine is set in motion and'when the predetermined enu-mb'er ofesheetslhave beerrprintedthe' swinging zontally through 90 delivers the severed strip on 1 {top of the 'pile of paper situated-adjacent the side -wall X (Figure 1), of the: casing l.

the, number given on the figure drums/will be that At this -stage originally shown on the setting drums while the latter will have come to zero. As the arm 23 passes into the position shown in broken lines in Figure 1, the pin 4!] is forced upwardly by the lever 31 under the action of spring 39 thereby reengaging clutch 21 through shaft I5 Shaft l5 now rotates cam 25, lifts spindle 24 and the pin 25 simultaneously strikes the pin 24 and thus efiects the resetting of the arm 23 and at the same time a further length of paper-strips is fed into position and will be severed automatically from the main strip as the arm 23 again drops into its operative position. As the press continues to deposit the sheets on the pile the figure drums will be returning to zero and the setting drums will return to their original set position, and so on as the printing machine continues to operate.

What I claim is:

1. A device for automatically inserting marking strips in piles of sheets at predetermined numbers arranged to be connected to the driving mechanism of, and used in combination with, the machine for delivering the sheets it is desired to count, comprising in combination means for supporting a roll of paper in strip form, means for drawing said strip through the machine, means for cutting the strip into predetermined lengths and for holding, delivering and placing said cut lengths into the desired position comprising a fixed cutting blade, a spring-controlled arm, a cutting blade secured to said arm, means for imparting a vertical movement and a partial rotary movement to said arm, the feeding, cutting and delivery mechanism being controlled by mechanism driven by the associated machine, the sequence of movements being controlled by a presetting mechanism, which pre-setting mechanism comprises a switch-over spindle, a rocker element secured thereon, means actuated by the mechanism driven by said associated machine for effecting a partial rotative movement of the spindle, a stop element on said spindle for limiting the degree of rotative movement in both directions, a plurality of pre-setting interconnected figure drums, a double action ratchet device actuated by the spindle, means connecting the ratchet device with the units figure drum, a gear element on each figure drum, a second series of interconnected figure drums, a gear element on each of said figure drums arranged to mesh with the gears on the first-named figure drums, a radial projection on each of said first-named figure drums, a plurality of electrical contacts arranged to be actuated by said radial projections when the drums come into zero position to effect the closure of an electrical circuit including a battery and an electro-magnet to effect an axial movement of the pre-setting switch-over spindle, a radial projection on each of the second named figure drums, a plurality of electrical contacts arranged to be actuated by said radial projections when the drums come into zero position to effect the closure of an electric circuit through said battery and a second electro-magnet to effect an axial movement of the pro-settingswitch-over spindle in the reversedirection.

2. A device for automatically inserting 'marking strips in piles of sheets at predetermined numbers arranged to be associated in driving connection withthe machine delivering the sheets it is desired to count, comprising in combination aroll of paper in strip form, means actuated by the associatedmachine for drawing-said strip inter'mittently through the machine, -means"-f0r -cutting'the strip into predetermined lengths, a "horizontally rotatable device carrying part- 0f said cutting means said device also serving for-holdi-ngr deliveringandplacing the cut lengths of strip on top of a pile of sheets delivered by the associated machine, means for resetting and repositioning said rotatable holding and delivery device into its operative position to cut a further length from said strip and hold same until a further predetermined number of sheets have been delivered by the associated machine, said resetting and positioning means being actuated and controlled by a switch-over mechanism embodying a spindle having a partial rotative movement in two directions efiected by a rocker element and an axial movement in two directions imparted by a ratchet mechanism, a pre-setting mechanism for controlling the sequence of movements, and a plurality of electrical contacts actuated by said pro-setting mechanism serving to establish a circuit through a battery and electromagnets and thereby regulating the periodic delivery of the strips.

3. A device for automatically inserting marking strips in piles of sheets at predetermined numbers arranged to be connected to and used in combination with the machine for delivering the sheets it is desired to count, comprising in combination means for supporting a roll of paper in strip form, means for drawing said strip through the machine, means for cutting the strip into predetermined lengths and for holding, delivering and placing said out lengths in the desired position comprising a fixed blade, a spring controlled arm, a catch for retaining said arm against the action of said spring in a position at right angles to the strip, a cutting blade secured to said arm arranged to coact with the fixed blade, means for releasing the catch to free the arm and enable same to move the cut lengths of paper and deliver same into the desired position, means for imparting a vertical movement and a partial horizontal rotary movement to said arm to return same to a position in which the arm is free to drop verticall and thereby enabl the cutting blade carried by the said arm to coact with the fixed blade to sever a further length from the strip, the feeding, cutting and delivery mechanism being effected by the driving mechanism connected with the associated machine, the sequence of movements being controlled by pre-setting mechanism.

4. A device for automatically inserting marking strips in piles of sheets at predetermined numbers arranged to be connected to the driving mechanism of and used in combination with the machine for delivering the sheets it is desired to count, comprising in combination means for supporting a roll of paper in strip form, means for drawing said strip through the machine, a fixed cutting blade, a verticall movable cutting blade coacting therewith for cutting said strip into predetermined lengths, a spring controlled arm to the rear surface of Which said vertically movable cutting blade is rigidly secured, means for imparting a partial horizontal rotary movement to said arm for holding, delivering and placing said out lengths into the desired position REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 745,847 Holton Dec. 1, 1903 954,875 McAdams Apr. 12, 1910 2,365,645 Matthews Dec. 19, 1944 10 2,382,998 Kleinschmidt Aug. 21, 1945 

